Through a Visioning Session conducted by the Town, it was determined that this building be “an inviting, safe and fun place to foster a healthy lifestyle through recreation, sport and cultural activities that is accessible to all!”

The Town had three other priorities:

1. The project pursues LEED objectives with Silver as its target; a challenge for this building type, especially given the pre-determined green field site.

2. The ability for the public to be able to walk into the facility and understand it immediately.

3. The building must have a “wow” factor.

The interior program of the 158,000 sq. ft. facility consists of four major components: a 900-seat NHL-sized twin ice pad facility, a pool complex including an eight-lane competition pool, a beach walk-in leisure pool plus a separate therapy pool, a double gymnasium and community service spaces. The project included several sustainable design features: both ice rinks take advantage of waste heat from the refrigeration system to provide hydronic in-floor heating. In addition, rainwater is captured and stored in a cistern for use in the manufacturing of the arena ice.

The building has now achieved the LEED Silver target and is providing state-of-the-art recreation space for the residents of the Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury.